Showing posts with label Dessert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dessert. Show all posts
I usually like to bake us a cake at the weekend. Something for my husband to enjoy with a hot drink. Cakes and weekends are beautiful partners.
I confess I do like a little sliver of cake myself every now and then. In my experience yogurt cakes are beautiful and simple cakes. Just the kind for relaxing with. Perfect weekend cakes.
I had seen this cake recipe on the Lancashire Farm site the other day and it looked magnificent so I thought I would give it a go!
It uses about 1 cup of their natural bio yogurt. If you can't get this because you live in an area where its not available then you can use any other good quality natural bio yogurt.
I like theirs because it is thick and delicious!
I was really pleased with how the recipe worked out. Their recipe on site gives a 30 minute bake time, but when I checked at 30 minutes, it was still quite wobbly.
It took mine about 45 minutes to bake and then it was PERFECT!
You can also bake it in a ring tin, but I baked it in my 8 inch round cake tin. I used a paper liner.
You don't need to do that, you can simply butter it, but I like to use a liner if I can for ease in removing the cake from the tin.
There is a lot of sugar in the cake and I find that cakes with a high sugar content tend to stick.
I used Dorie Greenspan's trick of rubbing the lemon zest required for the cake into the sugar first.
Oh boy but it smells so heavenly when you do this, and rubbing it with the sugar really releases all of the lemon oils and gives you even more of a beautiful lemony flavour!
This beautiful cake stands on its own. No need to ice it, simply dust it with a light snowfall of icing sugar. Just enough . . .
You can see how moist it is. And it cuts beautifully.
This is not long since I took it from the oven. It was still slightly warm . . .
I served it to my husband with some tinned sliced peaches . . .
If you are doing a cake like this for dessert, then a bit of fruit goes very nicely.
Peaches are lovely, but so are pears, berries, etc. I think a dollop of whipped cream would also be nice.
There were no complaints . . .
Our friends Tony and Tina happened by, not long afterwards. I said to them, "How did you know I had baked a cake!"
This happened last week as well when I had baked the Boston Cream Pie.
I didn't have to ask them twice if they wanted a slice! They were quite happy to tuck in!
Yield: 8 inch cake
Lemon & Yogurt Cake
prep time: 10 minscook time: 45 minstotal time: 50 mins
A delicious moist cake adapted from a recipe on the Lancashire Farm Dairy page. Quick and easy to make, I served it with some slices peaches and it was fabulous!
ingredients:
350g sugar (1 3/4 cup + 2 TBS)
2 large free range eggs
1/2 tsp salt
3 tsp fresh lemon juice
the finely grated zest of 2 lemons
180ml sunflower oil (3/4 cup)
250g Lancashire Farm Natural Non Bio Yogurt (1 cup)
260g self raising flour (2 cups, minus 1 1/2 TBS)
Icing sugar to dust when ready to serve
instructions:
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Line a 9 inch round baking tin with baking paper. Alternately grease a ring tin.
Measure
the sugar into a bowl. Add the lemon zest and rub until very fragrant.
Add the salt, lemon juice, eggs and oil. Beat together with a fork to
combine well. Add the yogurt and flour, mixing well together and then
pour the batter into the prepared tin.
the sugar into a bowl. Add the lemon zest and rub until very fragrant.
Add the salt, lemon juice, eggs and oil. Beat together with a fork to
combine well. Add the yogurt and flour, mixing well together and then
pour the batter into the prepared tin.
the preheated oven for 45 minutes until well risen, golden brown
and a toothpick inserted in the centre comes out clean. The top should
also spring back when lightly touched. Leave to cool in the tin and
then turn out and dust with icing sugar to serve.
Created using The Recipes Generator
This really was/is a beautiful cake. I don't think you can go wrong with a yogurt cake like this! Bon Appetit!
Friday was just one of those days. It was my husband's 80th birthday and I wanted to bake him a really nice cake. He loves Maple and so I decided to make him a Maple Cake. I found a really good recipe on the Betty Crocker site. And went with it. I had very high hopes.
Can you say "CAKE FAIL?" Not the recipe's fault. The recipe is a sound recipe and I will try it again another day. For some reason my cake stuck to the pan very badly, despite all my efforts and this is what I ended up with. *Sniff *Sniff Crumbs, loads and loads of crumbs.
Its a good thing I had a back up plan! Pumpkin Pie Roll Ups! Is it ever too early for a Pumpkin dessert? I THINK NOT! Especially when it is as delicious as this one!
Pumpkin Pie Roll Ups! I did a recipe for Apple Pie Roll Ups a number of years back, which proved to be very popular and even won an award. They are really good! I am happy to say that these are every bit as tasty, and maybe even more so! (as if that's possible!)
Maybe we will call it a draw. One is as good as the other!
It uses simple ingredients. First, tinned cooked pumpkin puree, which is a lot easier to find over here now than what it used to be. You can get it in most of the shops and from Amazon.
Refrigerated Croissant Roll Dough, which is very similar to the Refrigerated Crescent Roll Dough that you can get in North America. It might be a bit flakier, and more pastry like, but the NA version will also work very well.
Cream cheese . . . easy enough and Pumpkin Pie Spice. Say what??? Not something we can find here in the UK, but not a problem really. I make my own from scratch, and it is probably better than what you could buy.
Yield: approximately 1/2 cup
Pumpkin Pie Spice
prep time: 10 minscook time: total time: 10 mins
Make your own Pumpkin Pie Spice from scratch. Its easy and its probably tastier than the ready made you can buy at the shops. I grate my own nutmeg for this and grind my own cloves.
ingredients:
45g ground cinnamon (1/3 cup)
1 TBS freshly ground nutmeg
1 TBS ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground allspice
1 1/2 tsp ground cloves
instructions:
Stir all of the ingredients together and store in an airtight jar in a dark place for up to six months. Use as needed. You can freeze it and t will keep longer if you wish.
Created using The Recipes Generator
Pumpkin pie spice has always been impossible to find over here in the UK, but it is so easy to make your own so I highly recommend doing so. I make most of my own spice blends actually. That way you know just how fresh they really are. I grate my own nutmeg from scratch and I even pulverise my own cloves, etc. It doesn't take a lot of effort and more than makes up for it in flavour and freshness.
You make a buttery sugar streusel using both brown and granulated sugar, some of the pumpkin pie spice and some butter. Easy peasy.
Putting them together really is a breeze. Unroll the roll dough, divide into triangles, top with . . . first the pumpkin puree . . .
Next the cream cheese and then some of the sugar/spice mixture. Then you roll them up. Its that simple. Make sure you tuck in the edges. You don't want any of that lucious filling escaping!
Pop them into a buttered dish, sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture on top, drizzle some apple juice over all and then bake. Bake until they are puffed and crisp . . . and cooked through. Like magic, you will find a centre which is just as tasty, or even tastier than a pumpkin pie!
Serve them warm with your favourite accompaniments. Todd likes warm custard with his, but ice cream would be lovey as would pouring cream. Or, dare I say it . . . whipped cream! YUMM!
Yield: 6 - 8
Pumpkin Pie Roll Ups
prep time: 20 minscook time: 32 minstotal time: 52 mins
All I can say is OH MY GOODNESS! If you only bake one pumpkin dessert this autumn. Let it be this!
ingredients:
50g soft light brown sugar (1/4 cup)
45g granulated sugar (1/4 cup)
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (see my recipe)
75g cold butter (1/3 cup)
1 can refrigerated croissant roll dough (crescent dinner rolls)
6 to 8 heaped TBS tinned pumpkin (not the pie filling)
6 to 8 TBS cream cheese
3 TBS apple juice
To serve:
creme anglaise (Custard), vanilla ice cream or pouring cream
instructions:
Pre-heat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter am 8 inch square baking dish or spray with low fat cooking spray.
Measure the sugars, pie spice and cold butter into a bowl. Cut together with two knives or a fork until crumbly. Set aside.
Open
your croissant dough. Divide into 6 or 8 triangles, depending on where
you live. Spread 1 TBS pumpkin onto the wide end of each triangle.
Top the pumpkin with a TBS of the cream cheese and then 1 TBS of the
sugar mixture. Roll up to the opposite point and tuck in the edges.
Place into the baking dish. Repeat for the remaining Croissant rolls.
Sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture over top of the croissants and then
pour the apple juice over top evenly.
your croissant dough. Divide into 6 or 8 triangles, depending on where
you live. Spread 1 TBS pumpkin onto the wide end of each triangle.
Top the pumpkin with a TBS of the cream cheese and then 1 TBS of the
sugar mixture. Roll up to the opposite point and tuck in the edges.
Place into the baking dish. Repeat for the remaining Croissant rolls.
Sprinkle the remaining sugar mixture over top of the croissants and then
pour the apple juice over top evenly.
10 minutes prior to serving. Serve warm with your favourite
accompaniments. Stand back and take a bow.
Created using The Recipes Generator
When I put a bowl of this in front of Todd, he really didn't mind not having a cake. He snuffled it up and went back for seconds. (Oh how I wish I had his metabolism! ) I am not surprised really. They are fabulous! Happy almost Autumn y'all and Happy Birthday Todd! Bon Appetit!
Rhubarb Pudding Cake. One dessert I need to make every rhubarb season is this delicious Rhubarb Pudding Cake. It is a recipe I have been making for years and years and years.
When it comes right down to it, I think one of my absolute favorite fruits has to be rhubarb. This goes right back to my childhood. I can remember my mother giving us sticks of rhubarb along with a small bowl of sugar when I was a child . . . as a treat.
We would stick the cut end of the rhubarb into the sugar and then chew on it . . . oh but the tartness of it would make our cheeks ache!! This was part of the pleasure I am sure.
Another favourite way to enjoy it was simply stewed and spooned warm, over ice cream. Over here in the UK, they enjoy it stewed with custard.
On both sides of the pond it is enjoyed in crumbles/crisps and in pies! And of course a favourite partner is the humble strawberry!
Rhubarb Pudding Cake is an old fashioned dessert that goes back a very long way.
I am sure there is a version of this, handwritten on paper and tucked into just about every family recipe box, having pleased family after family down through the generations!
Its a very simple dessert. Rhubarb is first cooked/stewed on top of the stove until tender.
You then let it cool just a tiny bit . . . while you make a cake batter.
The cake batter is poured into a buttered baking tin and then the rhubarb is spooned over top . . .
Something magical happens when it is cooking . . . the cake bubbles up through the rhubarb and some of the rhubarb sinks . . .
What you end up with is a moist cake filled with small rivulets and puddles of stewed rhubarb . . . little sweet/tart caverns . . . sticky . . . moreish . . .
Deliciously perfect little crevices that are wonderful to hold things like warm custard, or pouring cream . . .
Or, my favourite . . . ice cream. I prefer vanilla, but on this day I had only strawberry ripple, which was very good also.
Served warm . . . the ice cream melts down into those tasty little rhubarb dimples . . . collecting in sweet little cool pools of deliciousness . . .
It is no surprise that this is one of our favourite family desserts. I am sure if it isn't already, it is bound to become one of yours also!
*Rhubarb Pudding Cake*
Serves 9
This has to be one of our favourite desserts.
500g diced fresh or frozen rhubarb (4 cups)
185g sugar, divided (1 1/2 cups)
55g white vegetable shortening (1/4 cup)
1 large free range egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
140g plain flour (1 cup)
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
120ml milk (1/2 cup)
Preheat the oven to 180*C/350*F/ gas mark 4. Butter a 9 inch square baking tin really well.
Put
the rhubarb into a saucepan along with 190g of the sugar (1 cup).
Cook, stirring occasionally, over medium heat for 12 to 15 minutes until
the rhubarb is tender. Set aside.
Cream
together the shortening and remaining sugar until light and fluffy.
Beat in the egg and vanilla. Whisk together the flour, baking powder and
salt. Add to the creamed mixture, alternately with the milk, beginning
and ending with flour. Pour into the prepared pan. Spoon the rhubarb
over top.
This content (written and photography) is the sole property of The English Kitchen. Any reposting or misuse is not permitted. If you are reading this elsewhere, please know that it is stolen content and you may report it to me at: mariealicejoan@aol.com
Most of you have probably got all of your Christmas Menu planned now right down to the last olive and pickle on the tray, but I thought there might be some of you who are still lacking in a bit of inspiration, and who were looking for something to delight your family in the dessert area of your festive celebrations!
I am drawing today from the vast archive of dishes that I used to make when I worked at the manor and bring to you a selection of four different desserts that are fabulous contenders to grace your holiday table, if not for Christmas lunch then perhaps for New Years, or really any time you are wanting something just a tiny bit special!
A Dark Chocolate Yule Log. Christmas and Yule Logs go together like peas and carrots!
This next recipe makes use of Sweetened Chestnut Puree as a part of the filling. This Chocolate Roulade is fabulously delicious, gluten free, and a very simple bake!
*Chocolate Roulade*
Serves 6
To fill:
250ml double cream (9 fluid ounces)Lay out a clean tea towel. Top with a sheet of baking paper and dust liberally with icing sugar. Invert the sponge onto the baking paper and gently peel away the tin lining paper. Whisk the double cream until almost stiff, then stir in the chestnut cream and brandy Spread this mixture over top of the sponge leaving a 1 inch border around the edges. Scatter the chopped chestnuts over top. Using one end of the teatowel, roll up from the long side carefully. Place onto a serving plate and dust liberally with some more icing sugar.
Chill until you are ready to serve. Cut into slices to serve.
Ginger Cake is a real favourite around here. This recipe used Preserved Stem Ginger in syrup. Stem Ginger and the holidays are wonderful companions!
Now if I have whetted your appetite for a Christmas Ginger Cake and you find it impossible to
get the preserved Ginger. This other Ginger Cake is a most suitable replacement,
and when baked in a bundt tin, very impressive!
Finally something cold to whet your appetites. Orange Ice Cream, served with a tasty Almond Praline!
*Orange Ice Cream*
Serves 6
Whisk in the creme
fraiche and orange peel. Pour into an ice cream machine and churn
according to the manufacturer's directions. Alternately pour into a
freezerproof container, cover and freeze for 12 hours. Remove from the
freezer and beat to break down any ice crystals. Refreeze and beat as
before, then refreeze until solid. Serve in scoops, garnished with the
broken praline.
My English Kitchen is now closed for Christmas and I want to take this opportunity to wish each and every one of you a Very Merry Christmas. May it be filled with lots of love and family and plenty of good eats. See you on the flip side! (If you do have any pressing questions I will be checking comments and e-mails periodically!) Thank you all so very much for your faith and loyalty over this past year. You make blogging fun for me! God bless!
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